For two years in a row, Utah Jazz center has been named the Defensive Player of the Year.
But there’s someone a third his age making waves over social media who, well, might be coming for his title.
And Rudy Gobert is totally fine with it.
Seven-year-old McCartney’s defensive prowess was brought to light the other day when her dad — who works for Barstool Sports’ Zero Blog 30 radio — tweeted out a video of her going full Patrick Beverley on an unsuspecting opponent.
Her dad, who goes by Chaps on the show, told MySanAntonio he had just told her to stay on defense.
“She said, ‘Got it, dad.’ It didn’t really surprise me,” he said to the outlet. “She has a tenacious little personality all the time, she’s just a wild card — she tries really hard at everything she does,” he said.
McCartney plays through the whistle pic.twitter.com/AhDxXzkZNj
— chaps (@UncleChaps) June 25, 2019
McCartney started making the social media rounds. Her wingspan. Her relentless D. Moving her body in every direction of the girl she was guarding to block off any progress.
Once she learns how to keep track of the ball and not just the player she’s guarding, McCartney will be a true menace.
Gobert thinks she’s already reached that point.
“You can give her my trophy” he said and tagged the NBA in the tweet.
Allright @nba you can give her my trophy https://t.co/KAXs9BYLWT
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) June 26, 2019
He wasn’t the only defensive great to see it.
Scottie Pippen, who made an All-NBA Defensive Team 10 times — eight on the First Team — analyzed it on it on ESPN’s The Jump.
“She obviously is guarding the scorer, she doesn’t want her touching the ball,” Pippen said, and the ESPN footage jumped from McCartney to Pippen playing defense for the Chicago Bulls.
“I played just like that little girl.”
Just like her? With praise from Pippen and Gobert, looks like McCartney may be winning her own hardware soon.
Others may be thinking the same:
Once that little girl learns to do all that while swiveling her head to keep her eye on the ball too, she is gonna go down as the best defender ever in the history of the sport
— Beyonce has an uncle named Larry Beyince. Bruh…. (@DragonflyJonez) June 26, 2019
